Published: Saturday, December 8, 2012 at 10:28 p.m.

Last Modified: Sunday, December 9, 2012 at 12:33 a.m.

Parish voters approved a half-cent sales tax Saturday that will raise $330 million to help finish and maintain a major levee system in Terrebonne.

The tax passed by a vote of 5,879 to 2,349, or 71 percent to 29 percent, complete but unofficial results show. About 13 percent of the parish's 64,468 voters cast ballots.

The money will pay for remaining parts of the Terrebonne Levee District's Morganza-to-the-Gulf hurricane-protection system.

“I've never been prouder of the citizens of Terrebonne Parish. They have once again stepped up to the place,” Levee Director Reggie Dupre said. “This is going to send a message straight up to Washington that we want to survive and will do what is necessary to survive.”

The tax, which will expire after 28 years, is expected to raise about $12 million a year, or about $330 million total. The district plans to sell bonds, which could raise more than $100 million immediately to pay for levee construction. It will use the tax money to repay the debt over 25 years.

The Levee Board has passed an amendment preventing any of the half-cent sales tax revenue from being used on studies or administrative salaries. It will all go to construction and maintenance. It can also be used only for Morganza projects and projects approved by the state Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority.

Terrebonne voters enacted a quarter-cent sales tax that raises $6 million a year for the levee system. That money is being used to build the Houma Navigation Canal floodgate. The district also brings in a property tax of 4.89 mills that raises about $3.7 million per year for operations and maintenance.

Dupre said the tax will allow the district to finish the interim Morganza levee system in the next three to four years.

“Terrebonne Parish will be protected now,” said state Rep. Gordon Dove, R-Houma, who has advocated heavily for the Morganza project. “A lot of these levee and floodgate projects are being engineered now, so it will be expedited protection now that we have the money to do it.”

Advocates have described the tax as a last stand to finish the levee system and protect the parish from flooding caused by Gulf of Mexico storms. Conceived in 1992 by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Morganza is a system of levees and floodgates stretching from Dularge to Larose. But the project has remained in the study phase for 20 years while residents have flooded from multiple hurricanes. More than $70 million has been spent by the corps to study the system, but not a dollar in federal money has been spent on construction.

In the meantime, the projected cost to build Morganza has skyrocketed from $880 million to as much as $10 billion, which local officials say makes it increasingly unlikely the federal project will come to fruition.

After hurricanes Gustav and Ike in 2008, the Levee District opted to move ahead without the corps to build a scaled-down version of the levee system with more than $220 million in state and local money. Officials say the project won't protect the parish from the worst storms, but it would have prevented the kind of flooding residents saw during 2005's Hurricane Rita and 2008's Hurricane Ike. But the district was $120 million short of what's needed to finish the Morganza project.

“Four years ago, I would have never believed that we had a chance to build the first lift of Morganza and protect the entirety of Terrebonne Parish. The passage of this tax makes it a reality that in the next few years we will have protection,” said Terrebonne Parish President Michel Claudet. “It also indicates that our citizens can vote for a tax if they feel like they feel like it's going to bricks and mortar and not to studies.”

The parish is also working to bolster drainage levees and pumps to provide redundant protection and protect communities while Morganza is being completed, Claudet said.

“It is critically important to protect and retain our citizens,” Claudet said.

So far, the Levee Board is building or is preparing to build 10-foot levees in lower Chauvin and Pointe-aux-Chenes and along Falgout Canal. It is also building levees to connect the Navigation Canal floodgate to the system.

The board also built floodgates in Placid and Bush canals and is building one on Bayou Grand Caillou.

About $120 million of the tax revenue will be used to close the system against the Gulf. The district will build levees connecting the system in Grand Caillou, Little Caillou, Montegut and Pointe-aux-Chenes. And will build floodgates on Bayou Little Caillou and on Bayou Pointe-aux-Chenes.

The money will also pay for a $38 million project to build levees in Bayou Black and a $30 million project to build a floodgate and connecting levees in Falgout Canal in Dularge.

The tax will raise an additional $112 million that the Levee Board plans to use to continue raising levees after the initial project is brought up to 10 feet. Money will also be needed to maintain the system.

Dupre said the tax election represents a vote of confidence in the Levee District's mission to build Morganza locally. But he added that he aims to show even the 29 percent who voted against the tax that the money will be spent wisely.

“We're still hopeful someday that we get a federal project. That everything we're doing will count as credit toward that project,” Dupre said. “But even in the worst-case scenario, that the federal government never comes to help us, at least now we'll have a system in place to provide us with the protection we need to stay here.”

Staff Writer Nikki Buskey can be reached at 857-2205 or nicole.buskey@houmatoday.com.

<p>Parish voters approved a half-cent sales tax Saturday that will raise $330 million to help finish and maintain a major levee system in Terrebonne.</p><p>The tax passed by a vote of 5,879 to 2,349, or 71 percent to 29 percent, complete but unofficial results show. About 13 percent of the parish's 64,468 voters cast ballots.</p><p>The money will pay for remaining parts of the Terrebonne Levee District's Morganza-to-the-Gulf hurricane-protection system. </p><p>“I've never been prouder of the citizens of Terrebonne Parish. They have once again stepped up to the place,” Levee Director Reggie Dupre said. “This is going to send a message straight up to Washington that we want to survive and will do what is necessary to survive.”</p><p>The tax, which will expire after 28 years, is expected to raise about $12 million a year, or about $330 million total. The district plans to sell bonds, which could raise more than $100 million immediately to pay for levee construction. It will use the tax money to repay the debt over 25 years.</p><p>The Levee Board has passed an amendment preventing any of the half-cent sales tax revenue from being used on studies or administrative salaries. It will all go to construction and maintenance. It can also be used only for Morganza projects and projects approved by the state Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority.</p><p>Terrebonne voters enacted a quarter-cent sales tax that raises $6 million a year for the levee system. That money is being used to build the Houma Navigation Canal floodgate. The district also brings in a property tax of 4.89 mills that raises about $3.7 million per year for operations and maintenance.</p><p>Dupre said the tax will allow the district to finish the interim Morganza levee system in the next three to four years.</p><p>“Terrebonne Parish will be protected now,” said state Rep. Gordon Dove, R-Houma, who has advocated heavily for the Morganza project. “A lot of these levee and floodgate projects are being engineered now, so it will be expedited protection now that we have the money to do it.”</p><p>Advocates have described the tax as a last stand to finish the levee system and protect the parish from flooding caused by Gulf of Mexico storms. Conceived in 1992 by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Morganza is a system of levees and floodgates stretching from Dularge to Larose. But the project has remained in the study phase for 20 years while residents have flooded from multiple hurricanes. More than $70 million has been spent by the corps to study the system, but not a dollar in federal money has been spent on construction.</p><p>In the meantime, the projected cost to build Morganza has skyrocketed from $880 million to as much as $10 billion, which local officials say makes it increasingly unlikely the federal project will come to fruition.</p><p>After hurricanes Gustav and Ike in 2008, the Levee District opted to move ahead without the corps to build a scaled-down version of the levee system with more than $220 million in state and local money. Officials say the project won't protect the parish from the worst storms, but it would have prevented the kind of flooding residents saw during 2005's Hurricane Rita and 2008's Hurricane Ike. But the district was $120 million short of what's needed to finish the Morganza project.</p><p>“Four years ago, I would have never believed that we had a chance to build the first lift of Morganza and protect the entirety of Terrebonne Parish. The passage of this tax makes it a reality that in the next few years we will have protection,” said Terrebonne Parish President Michel Claudet. “It also indicates that our citizens can vote for a tax if they feel like they feel like it's going to bricks and mortar and not to studies.”</p><p>The parish is also working to bolster drainage levees and pumps to provide redundant protection and protect communities while Morganza is being completed, Claudet said.</p><p>“It is critically important to protect and retain our citizens,” Claudet said.</p><p>So far, the Levee Board is building or is preparing to build 10-foot levees in lower Chauvin and Pointe-aux-Chenes and along Falgout Canal. It is also building levees to connect the Navigation Canal floodgate to the system.</p><p>The board also built floodgates in Placid and Bush canals and is building one on Bayou Grand Caillou.</p><p>About $120 million of the tax revenue will be used to close the system against the Gulf. The district will build levees connecting the system in Grand Caillou, Little Caillou, Montegut and Pointe-aux-Chenes. And will build floodgates on Bayou Little Caillou and on Bayou Pointe-aux-Chenes.</p><p>The money will also pay for a $38 million project to build levees in Bayou Black and a $30 million project to build a floodgate and connecting levees in Falgout Canal in Dularge.</p><p>The tax will raise an additional $112 million that the Levee Board plans to use to continue raising levees after the initial project is brought up to 10 feet. Money will also be needed to maintain the system.</p><p>Dupre said the tax election represents a vote of confidence in the Levee District's mission to build Morganza locally. But he added that he aims to show even the 29 percent who voted against the tax that the money will be spent wisely.</p><p>“We're still hopeful someday that we get a federal project. That everything we're doing will count as credit toward that project,” Dupre said. “But even in the worst-case scenario, that the federal government never comes to help us, at least now we'll have a system in place to provide us with the protection we need to stay here.”</p><p>Staff Writer Nikki Buskey can be reached at 857-2205 or nicole.buskey@houmatoday.com.</p>